Wednesday, February 06, 2008

The Nominee Will Face Apocalypto for Sport

If some of the more zealous Barack Obama supporters really believe in their candidates' ability to overcome partisan divisions and to reason Republicans into crossing over and voting for Obama, I'd have to call such confidence naive and misplaced. If they seriously believe that nothing could be worse than the Clinton campaign attacks, they do not understand how much more ruthlessly efficient the GOP operates.

Here, via Tennviews, is a foretaste of a nibble of what would be in store for a nominated Obama:
At his press conference this morning in Chicago before heading back out on the campaign trail, Obama said:

I have to just respond by saying that the Clinton research operation is about as good as anybody's out there. I assure you that having engaged in a contest against them for the last year that they've pulled out all the stops.

To which RNC spokesman Alex Conant responded thusly:

With all due respect to the Clinton 'machine', should Barack Obama win the nomination, I'm sure Republicans will have plenty of arguments to level against the Senate's "most liberal" member.
The Republicans should be taken at their word when they say that they promise to make things worse on Obama than the Clinton campaign has. And yet, Obama's hardcore supporters seem to cultivate profound animus for Clinton even as they proclaim to overcome political divisions in the expectation that Republican voters will inevitably fall in line with them. They are in for a rude awakening should Obama be the Dem nominee.


UPDATE: Whoever the Democratic nominee is would do well to heed Jimmy Malone's "Chicago Way":

3 comments:

  1. All well and good Mike, but the same could be said against the Hillary supporters who think that because Bill Clinton was able to "win" against the Republicans, that means she is battle tested and is assured a victory against the GOP.

    The truth is, this will be the first real contest either Hillary or Obama has against the full court press of the GOP.

    Clinton is grasping at straws and digging in to her pocketbook to hold onto her lead against a first term Senator and National Political newcomer. Obama has been able to go up against the titular head of the Democratic party and his spouse, who have in the past shown a gleeful willingness to go after their opponent will a full force.

    You may have an argument that Obama supporters give their candidate's abilities too much credit, but you don't give him enough.

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  2. No argument about this being Clinton's first real presidential campaign context, although I would also hasten to add that I am aware of no fight that Obama has faced similar to what Clinton faced over health care or what she went through in the Lewinsky mess. I would imagine that both contributed to a thicker skin than any Obama's political trials that I am aware of.

    And I gave Obama enough credit to vote for him yesterday. But please don't assume that as further evidence of Obama's strength at attracting late-breaking voters. It was not an easy choice and I had to backtrack several times before finally pushing "VOTE" and exiting. I actually give Obama a lot of credit even with the concerns I express about him and aside from my cringing chagrin about some of those grievously vocal "Obamatons."

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  3. Glad to hear you saw past me and my fellow "Obamatons" at the voting booth...

    I would imagine that both contributed to a thicker skin than any Obama's political trials that I am aware of.

    I don't know what a thick skin has to do with being able to pass a progressive legislation. Quite frankly, I haven't seen much evidence of a thin skin from Obama when it comes to defending his record and his positions. He spent years in Chicago politics under a Republican controlled Senate...I'm sure he has learned a few lessons here and there.

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